Andy Serkis has revealed Peter Jackson has asked him to act as second unit director on The Hobbit.

The Lord Of The Rings star - who played Gollum in the trilogy - will now help direct and film the two prequel movies which are currently in production in New Zealand.

Andy told The Hollywood Reporter: "I think I understand Peter's sensibility and we have a common history of understanding Middle Earth.

"A lot of the crew from The Lord Of The Rings was returning to work on The Hobbit. There is really a sense of Peter wanting people around him who totally understand the material and the work ethic."

The 46-year-old British actor has done some directing but was still surprised to be asked to work on The Hobbit.

He said: "When Peter asked me there was this email out of the blue. It was a fantastic surprise."

Andy has just finished shooting his part of Gollum for The Hobbit, which is done using performance capture and CGI technology.

Andy said it was "thrilling" to reprise the role of Gollum. He said: "I was looking forward to doing it. He never really left me. He is very much a Gollum that people will recognise."

But he is now looking forward to learning from working with Peter on directing the film.

He said: "It is wide ranging and encompasses a lot of directing aspects of filmmaking and story. Yes, there is some performance capture, but I will be very much on the live action sets and locations helping Peter to tell the story. The learning curve is The Hobbit is being shot in 3D. It will be used dramatically, to give a point of view."